Scaling access and learning in education: lessons from FCDO programmes

• In Event: Scaling and systems change in international education development: perspectives of funders and implementers (Part 1)

Proposal

Given the severity of the learning crisis, we need more interventions to be embedded in government systems and implemented sustainably at scale to reach as many children as possible over the long term. The international education community is benefiting from a considerable increase in quality research on which interventions improve learning, including through the work of the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel and the Research on Improving Systems of Education Programme (RISE). However much of the evidence base comes from small-scale initiatives. There are significantly fewer examples of interventions demonstrating impact at scale, across contexts and by government (Stern, Jukes & Piper, 2020) and much less evidence on how to expand successful pilots to deliver sustainable learning outcomes.

The FCDO funded Scaling Access and Learning in Education programme (SCALE), aims to respond to these challenges and support governments to adapt evidence-based interventions to new contexts and get them on a pathway to scaling up. SCALE is one of several FCDO programmes, alongside the What Works Hub for Global Education, and others which seek to contribute to a pathway to improve learning at scale and maximise the impact of spending in education to get millions more children learning worldwide.

But working at scale is hard. The reality of messy, political operating contexts can undermine well-designed interventions. The technical and political barriers that challenge change need to be addressed to ensure scaled interventions deliver sustainable results. A core aspect of this is the political economy and financing of delivery. Aligning the intervention with government priorities and enlisting relevant government staff to engage is key. As is the importance of incentivising government officials across all levels (central, district, school) to focus on important responsibilities (such as improving pedagogy).

The design of SCALE builds on the understanding that, new pilot programmes should actively consider scalability from the start - prioritise piloting something that could be sustained and delivered at scale in future. The philosophy of SCALE is informed by the learning from RISE and rooted in the importance of taking a systems lens when considering how best to identify, adapt, and sustainably implement evidence-based education interventions in a new context.

SCALE will take a ‘test-learn-adapt’ approach, bringing real-time data and tailored research alongside pilots from an early design-stage, exploring different methodologies and tools – drawing from the What Works Hub for Global Education and the emerging field of implementation science – to build in strong feed-back loops with government and partners, communicate findings, assess changing factors within the education system, learn and adapt. The approach of SCALE leverages deep in-country partnerships and the expertise of our education advisers as an important enabler to work effectively with government to achieve impact at scale.

In this presentation, we will explore the evolution of FCDO funding for education systems and scaling research and programming, reflecting on learning from the first year of implementation of the SCALE and What Works Hub for Global Education programmes and how we have sought to integrate and apply a systems lens into design and implementation.

Author

• Kate Ross, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Government